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The Saban Research Institute Annual Symposium

The Saban Research Institute Annual Symposium highlights exciting strides that researchers at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and from around the globe are making in understanding the developmental origins of health and disease. Each year the theme of the event reflects an institutional research priority area.

“Global Impact of Pollution on Maternal and Child Health Across the Life Span,” focuses on how environmental factors affect children’s health as well as on the initiatives being implemented on a global level to help create a healthier future. Learn more.

“Toxic Stress, Resilience and Development,” featured presentations on the forefront of investigating the impact of chronic activation of a young child’s stress response system, so-called “toxic stress”. Distinguished thought leaders in research explored a wide range of inter-related topics, exploring toxic stress’s causes, its effects and the development of interventions to promote healthy physical and emotional growth and stability. Learn more.

“Metabolism, Immunity, Infection and Inflammation,” addressed the intimate links among these areas of study, their reciprocal interactions, and the balanced regulation required to fight disease and ensure optimal health. The symposium tackled topics ranging from the relationship between obesity and childhood cancer, to the cross-talk between cancer and immune cells within the tumor microenvironment; from strategies to improve immunization rates in the community setting, to interactions between intestinal microbiota and the immune system.

The pre-symposium evening reception featured a presentation by Martin Blaser, MD, director of the Human Microbiome Program at NYU Langone Medical Center. Learn more.

“Developmental Origins of Health and Disease: The Developing Mind,” explored growing evidence that the earliest physical, environmental and emotional childhood experiences impact the developing brain and can have varied and lifelong effects on health. The Symposium convened a diverse group of nationally recognized experts and honored Cheryl Saban, PhD, Haim Saban and The Saban Family Foundation for a decade of building healthier futures through The Saban Research Institute. Learn more.

“Healthcare Transition: Empowering Our Patients to Become Healthy Adults,” focused on the process of supporting the needs of youth and families as they make the transition from pediatric to adult-oriented health systems. The Symposium honored Roberta Williams, MD, featuring the first annual Roberta G. Williams Lecture in Adolescent and Young Adult Transitional. Learn more.